Crows have been observed conducting “funerals” for fallen flock mates, and this somber ritual may account for the gloomy associations, too. But other cultures have associated the birds with intelligence and adaptability, even transformation, and these are the connections I’ll rely on as the year unfolds. I have entered my sixties now, a time of change—to my body, to my family, to the way I think about my future—and I cling to the crow’s promise of metamorphosis. What more could anyone ask from a new year than the promise—or just the hope—of renewal?
